my hair steals time

[spidermom]

Is anybody else struggling like me?

When I read that others can style long hair and be good to go in 1-5 minutes, I am amazed. Mission impossible for me. Combing then bunning or braiding with adjustments and readjustments have taken up to 2 hours out of my day. I've actually jotted down the minutes, and believe me - 5 minutes here and 20 minutes there can add up to a lot in a day. It isn't optional. Most styles slide or sag, then pull, and must be re-done to avoid headache.

Every once in awhile, I do luck out and hit that sweet spot of perfect comfort for hours.

[florenonite]

If my hair takes me more than five minutes to do in the morning I just give it up as a bad job and ponytail it or wear it down. This usually only happens when it's really slippery because it's clean. Sometimes I need to redo styles like buns but that doesn't take long. If I wear a braid and it starts to slide out I give it up and do something else. Granted, my hair's not very long, but because it isn't I find it harder to get styles to stay, especially because it's thick (it takes more hair to stay in a braid this way, and the only bun I can do is a cinnabun).

[eadwine]

My 10sec bun takes just that.. 10 seconds.

However sometimes my hair is being a bitch and instead of taking 3 tries till it sits really to my liking it takes 30.

Yeah then it takes a lot of my time. I always make sure I get up early enough so I CAN fuss with it for 20 minutes . If it sits in 2 then I can take it easy till I have to go :lol:

[angelthadiva]

I guess I'm lucky...The longer it gets the easier it just goes up...Occasionally I do have an off day, but doing that updo challenge, really helped me to find that "sweet spot" quite easily...I to, would get headaches if my hair was too tight, or not at the right spot...I get real cranky when that happens...I've been doing either French or English braids nearly everyday for the longest...It only takes me about 5 minutes, and it stays all day!

[heidihug]

My hair is often slightly damp when get up, as I wash before bedtime every other day, so I do a quick finger comb and then put it up. I can do a bun in about 30 seconds and it only takes two of the little bobby pins or one stick to keep it in place all day, if it's damp. It tends to stay much better then than when it is dry.

I don't braid when it is wet unless I have an hour to devote to the detangle and plaiting process. I find I can do a quick braid bun or a heidi in about 5 to 10 minutes with dry and brushed hair. But most of the time, I do a bun, a twist/stick or a looped pony style if I am in a hurry.

[eadwine]

angelthadiva: Five minutes?? Geez, it takes me at LEAST 10 :lol:

[lora410]

For you braids why not make a pony tail at the nape braid it then place another pony tail on the end? It would save you from having to re-do it. I have the habit of doing 10 different styles a day with my hair :lol: I think your hair is beautiful and soo worth the two hours if I had it.

[icydove]

Is it taking a long time to *comb* your hair or a long time to *style* it? Are you trying to do something complicated when you style?

It takes me about 1 minute to detangle my hair, and 30 seconds to a minute it bun it or do a simple English braid. I may have to redo it a few times a day, but once again, it is only taking about 30 seconds to fix it, so no big deal :shrug:

[emeraldjoy]

I am trying to learn new hairstyles, but they take me a while. I am finding that my hair is either too long to do the old standbys or too short to do the fancy twists. Oh well, the basic bun will have to do for a while.

[Bloodflower]

It really depends on what I do with my hair. I have found my everyday style which really takes only a few seconds to achieve. For me this is a simple cinnamon bun held with a Ficcare. Add about five minutes of detangling to that.

BUT, if I want to do anything different with my hair, like a braid or wearing it down, it all changes. Then I have to redo the braid every few hours or comb out tangles several times a day. Also more complicated updos take longer to make.

[Unnamed]

Hmm. Only takes about a minute for a single braid, and maybe 2-3 minutes for a braided bun (5, for a french braid--including a bit of detangling). I don't detangle before every attempt, though--I'll comb the scalp hair to smooth it back, but I only comb the length *at most* once a day.

I also find that my as my hair has getting longer, there's less redoing and adjusting, although I have fewer options.

Granted, I couldn't reliably put my hair up until about hip length. :oops: Before that, everything would slide out, except maybe french twists and bunned french braids... My hair was down (often after trying to put it up--I'd just give up after a few tries) about 95% of the time until about tailbone length, simply because I couldn't get anything to stay where it was secured, it'd pull, or it'd just plain fall out. My hair is slick enough that I need at least an extra wrap--just to have something to anchor it in place.

[Nini]

If it takes too long, I'm not doing it;) I guess I use about five minutes in the morning, and I hardly ever redo it during the day. I'm lucky in that my hair untangles easily, so that's one less thing to think about.

I'll braid on wash day, and bun on the second day.

Two hours is a lot of time though...

Nini

[spidermom]

I can do most buns in 1-5 minutes, but some of them don't stay stable for even 10 minutes. Redoing this for 1 minute six times an hour equals 96 minutes out of my day.

Simple braids swing across my back and get 100,000 fuzzy ends that stick out and irritate my neck. I can't take it. So I bun the braid, then it sags, so I redo, and after a few re-dos the braid has gotten so loose that I have to re-do it. Getting a braid even and straight can take 5-20 minutes.

And so forth.

[Xandergrammy]

I'm lucky that my hair usually stays "put" when I put it up. I guess it takes me about 5 minutes. Anything more complicated than a bun or braid takes more time though. I guess I really haven't had a chance to play around with different hair styles since last year when I had extra time on my hands due to a broken foot. Some of THOSE styles I tried could take an hour.

[harpgal]

While it takes a few minutes to comb out and detangle, it takes me only about 5 minutes to braid and wrap that braid around a hairstick. I do not touch it all day long and it stays very neat. Then I merely slide the hairstick out, letting down the braid, and sleep with it that way. The longer my hair gets, the easier it gets. BTW, a logroll is even faster because there is no braiding.

[Lisa-Maria]

I've never thought about the time my hair requires out of my day. I must say I enjoy spending time on my hair, it's me time, so I redo my hair styles several times every day even when they don't pull or sag.

[aisling]

No, I don't have such a problem, I usually don't have to redo my buns several times a day. One major reason probably is that I've found what tools work well for which style and I've found those styles I always can rely on. There are a few buns I sometimes try once or twice in the morning and then give up if they don't work, making a simple cinnamon bun with a Ficcare for example instead. These experiments usually don't take more than 5, max. 10 minutes in the morning and then I wear that bun all day at work or redo once. When I come back home I take my bun down and wear it loose or in a braid the rest of the evening, nothing that takes much time.

[spidermom]

Unnamed, your post reminded me that this was easier before my recent trim. Those longer, thinner, Velcro-y ends added stability.

[Kyamo]

It takes me maybe 3-15 mins to comb and bun my hair depending on how many tries it takes before it comes out with smooth scalp hair and a stable bun. 90% of the time this is only once or twice, but occasionally a lot more. (therefore its usually closer to 3 than 15 mins) I almost never redo my hair later in the day. One exception to this is if I wear my hair down, I do usually comb it a few times throughout the day to keep the tangles down. It also sucks some time in the shower though, because CO takes quite a lot longer than when I used to just shampoo.

[jojo]

I think with me its not that it takes too much time putting up, though this depends what im actually doing as an up do, but more I fiddle with it, its up, its down! That takes up my time.

I get irritated very quickly with my hair, if the bun feels off centre, i have to straighten it up. Probably why im always finding split ends!

[share801]

I just had a trim a couple of weeks ago - maybe that is part of my problem too, but I do find it annoying to have to redo a sagging style. My hair is slippery and I wash no less than every other day - often daily. Even a "simple" pony tail has to be redone on my hair.

[spidermom]

I think with me its not that it takes too much time putting up, though this depends what im actually doing as an up do, but more I fiddle with it, its up, its down! That takes up my time.

I get irritated very quickly with my hair, if the bun feels off centre, i have to straighten it up. Probably why im always finding split ends!

Me too! (adding more words so the server will accept my post)

[thetokenlady]

I get my hair wet in the shower each morning (too lazy to try to keep it dry). Wet hair takes a minute or two longer to detangle, but goes into an updo very quickly. If I can't get anything else to work at all, a log roll is quick and always works with a Ficcare. Anything that involves braiding, however, can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours to "dammit, I give up!" I think I'm braid impaired.
:D

[MemSahib]

Hmmmm... my hair is plenty slippery but I guess I am satisfied with less-than-stellar styles and results to begin with. I rarely try anything complicated and if it constantly comes down it goes off my list of favored styles anyway. A basic bun might take five minutes total to comb out and twist up. If I am careful about putting it up it will stay all day. I often use several clips over a log roll which sometimes slides down but it takes less than a minute to re-do if I don't comb out. I think I unconsciously re-do sometimes so I've never thought about adding up the time I spend on my hair, but I do know it can be only minutes for the day.

I'm sorry you're having trouble, spidermom.

[jel]

I can see two issues here.

Which updos?
You've recently cut a couple of inches off, Spidermom, so you need to get used to the new (old) length and adjust your updos. Personally, at waist, I find that the non-twisting buns (like the soft nautilus, or chinese bun) are more stable and less likely to pull. At this length, figure 8 and bee butt buns lead to disaster! Another thing that works for me is a very high cinnabun - literally on top of my head - which is unaffected by gravity.

How do you secure them?
For me, Ficcare folded braids, braided buns and log rolls hold all day long and are well balanced. Obviously, (French) braiding first takes some time. Just recently I got two pairs of Ketylo corkscrew sticks, and they hold my soft nautilus and high cinnabuns perfectly - the updos are very secure and I can't feel the sticks.

Good luck, hope you get back into the groove soon!

[DMARTINEZ]

I understand your plight Spidermom, but for me its because Im a perfectionist. Are you?
Good thing I dont work outside the home because Id be late alot. ;) I do redo ALOT during
the day, but I figure with short hair Id be the same. I need to work at forgetting about
my hair and just leave it be. Easier said than done.


Deb

[spidermom]

For sure, jel; it's not just the length. Those blunt, silky ends slither.

[Shell]

I was thinking along the same lines as Jel. If I trim my hair too much (more than .5 inch) I find it challenging to do updos for a few days until I get used to it. Those blunt ends are a real pain. If you all take off length (which you did), then you have to change styles too. I also experience difficulties when my hair reaches a new length as it grows.

Additionally, I think maybe your tools for fastening might not be working for you. Maybe you need some quality forks (very stable and hold many different updos) or a ficcare. These are expensive, but so is your time. Two hours a day (on a non wash day) is simply too much. I might spend 5 minutes on my hair in the morning, that includes dampening and putting leave in on in the shower, combing, then putting it up. Okay, maybe 2 or 3 more minutes at the end of the day to comb, brush, and scalp massage--that's it.

[spidermom]

I have a Ficcare, a few pairs of sticks, a couple of forks (2 prong), and various shapes/sizes of claw clips. I have old fashioned hair pins also - nearly useless - and Goody plastic pins, which hold great but pull out hairs when I remove them.

[embee]

I had *great* trouble when I did my chop. The ends were blunt and when I tried to make an updo, those ends stuck out like the end of a paint brush. It was *horrid* and I could not make any bun at all that looked passable. I pretty much had to wear a braid until I got my fairytale ends back. And the braid was always fuzzy and bothered me a lot. Well, I did some half-ups (or log rolls) but they tended to look silly on me and my hair tangled like crazy. It wasn't a time problem, it was inability to make anything look nice at all.

Now my precious ends have returned and I do a variation of an orchid bun or that Equilibrium bun in maybe 5 minutes including comb out from my night braid. It's the greatest boon - and I don't even need a mirror, I just do it.

One thing which helped me a *lot* was using an elastic when I make the ponytail start. My hair is thin fine and slick, and the elastic gives my hairstick something else to work against. Otherwise I sometimes will have droop or sag or pulling troubles.

Good luck, spidermom!

[Celebrian]

No, I'm not following you round, Spidermom, but I note that you've trimmed recently and also you mentioned elsewhere that 'cones made a comeback for you - also recently. Could it be a combination of these two things causing fresh difficulty with up-styles?

[khyricat]

A) because I HATE to use a shower cap in the shower and won't leave the house with wet hair (esp. in winter) I take baths... so.. while the water runs I deknot, carefully put up with a clip so it doesn't tangle or get wet... b) when I am ready to "do" my hair it takes a minute or 2 to do one of my standby buns. I only play with new buns on my days off and only braid when I have some extra time on my hands...

Also- I spend that detangling time with the laptop on the bathroom counter, reading and studying while my hands carefully detangle..

[tiny_teesha]

If i'm not being fancy a simple pony tail takes mere seconds. And a bun too, the trick is getting the stick to sit perfect!
Then that will hold till ngiht. A braid is really simple for me too, i don't wear anything but buns in public because i'm self conscious of my taper, so buns do eat time.
It's hard to imagine hair taking up that long for me! It really probably consumes a good 10 -20 min a day for me.

[socks]

I've put my hair up every day for the past three or four years, so I've really had to learn how to do a quick updo. It takes about 10 seconds to put my hair in a bun, and stays up all day. A good pair of clips is vital, though.

[khyricat]

I spoke to soon last night.. I have a new hairtoy, but its a fork, so.. I used it for a standby bun this AM, and had to redo it as soon as I got to work! and its loose again now.. holding but when I start moving around I have a feeling I'll be redoing it again. plastic fork=BAD thing..

Ah well..

[Calista]

It takes me about 15 minutes to get ready in the morning. This includes washing my face, brushing my teeth, getting dressed, putting on makeup (moisturizer, loose powder, lipstick), and doing my hair. I have no idea how much time the latter takes, but it can´t be long. ;)

[atlantaz3]

I can do a french braid fairly quickly but it usually takes two tries for it to look good enough to go outside! A simple bun is quick also. Where I get time stolen is if I start playing with my hair before bedtime. I try new updos, twists, gibsons etc and next thing I know an hour has gone by and my arms hurt - hey that counts as cardio doesn't it? Last night I was trying the french braid to look like the Hair Line Braid from here http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip072.htm I need to be able to braid smaller sections!

[spidermom]

Embee, I never thought of using an elastic before bunning. That sounds like cheating somehow - haha. I'm fresh out of bed sitting here with my hair loose and all over the place. I haven't yet decided what suggestion to try, but I want to get dressed, put on a touch of makeup, and get my hair up and out of my way with a minimum of fuss and time (like Calista). Thank you for all the suggestions. Oh, and Celebrian, I've no doubt that both those changes (cut and cones) have contributed greatly to my recent difficulties. But I clocked 2 hours of hair-fiddling in a day before either of those occurrences, so this has been a long term problem. A lot of days I left my hair loose to save the time, but I don't want to keep doing that as it probably contributed to the hundreds of splits that I had to cut out.

[Silver & Gold]

Hiya spidermom, the post by alantaz3 reminded me of how I manage to be able to get out the door with little fuss as far as my hair . . . I practice on my hair in the evenings when I'm not typically doing that much anyway. Sitting in front of the TV I have my combs for scritching and a hair stick. I treat myself to a nice scritch and scalp massage and then I play with braiding my hair in different ways and fastening my hair up with a hairstick in different ways.

I don't feel like my hair is stealing my life away because I would generally be sitting and relaxing during this time anyway. Perhaps you have similar down time to practice a few things and then when you needed to do something on the run you would be better at it.

It works for me . . . mostly . . . although I still have clumsy mornings when no matter what I do my hair refuses to co-operate. Just don't make the mistake of thinking that chopping all your hair will solve the problem (I'm remembering a very recent post where you were getting nostalgic for short hair) because I know when my hair was shorter I had to wash AND style it every single day to make it look right.

[spidermom]

Silver & Gold, I do comb my hair out and braid it in the evenings while watching a movie sometimes. Now I think I will add in practicing various buns. It's a good upper body workout, I think.

[rhubarbarin]

Spidermom I think your problem is that your hair is thick (and heavy). Those of us with thinner or fine hair seem to be of the 5 minute or under capability.

It takes me about 30 seconds to get my hair up for the day. Granted, it isn't long, and it is average thickness and curly, so it 'sticks' very easily.

[Forever_Sophie]

My hair texture has everything to do w/ it. 7 yrs ago it was long and straight, and I miss it! I'd let it airdry and never give it a thought. After chemo it came back w/ big curls, and now there are waves that I hate...I don't like wearing my hair up, but that is sometimes faster (than straightening, wetting & scrunching, or playing around w/ it dry 'til I decide).

[Gumball]

I'm in that group with you, spidermom, depending on what I feel like doing. Detangling, oiling and then just braiding it takes about 5-10 minutes (I guess it could be sped up just a smidgen but I don't always like to plow through it). I completely understand about doing something and having to redo it for one reason or another. With some braids it's when one section is uneven, with buns it's when it's too tight or one section ends up pulling. Of course I don't necessarily take an hour, because even if it got to half that and I was still trying I'd go "fudge this" and just braid it, not wholly caring about the sections. Hehe. Fluffy, curly hair that likes to take its time to find other hairs and snuggle and wrap around them in a loving little embrace can be good and well for them, but not always that fantastic for me.

[Lady Godiva]

I find that making my updos on the tight side really helps them to stay in place. From the start of any twist or coil, I keep everything tidy and in firm position. Messy, loose updos are the death of updos.

[zift]

Hello spidermom,
I get the blues about how my hair steals time sometimes too. But in reality when I read your post I realized that it's not stealing as much as I thought. Two hours is a lot of time for a day!
We have similar hair texture and I've experienced that I have to redo updoes and braids the days when my hair is not well moistured. Somehow a place in scalp area pulls and hurt and it glides and I'll redo. But after deep-oil treatments, my buns always stay secure and safe in place and my scalp doesn't hurt. Also I can brush and style my hair easily and braid it more evenly with moi,styred hair too. So I advice you to praise your hair with excessive moisture and see if it helps.:)

[spidermom]

I find that making my updos on the tight side really helps them to stay in place. From the start of any twist or coil, I keep everything tidy and in firm position. Messy, loose updos are the death of updos.

Well there's part of my problem. I really can't tolerate hair pulled tight. It feels like it's pulling from the backs of my eyeballs and HURTS.

I've got my hair in a single-loop knot with the tail sticking out, secured with my manta ray stick at the nape this morning. It's been holding comfortably for ONE WHOLE HOUR; I'm hopeful this is the style until bedtime.

[levelek]

I think jel nailed it, and lots of great advice from others too. Once you have found a few styles that work at your length and with your heavy hair, it should stay up all day.

I also have thick, heavy hair and hate it when a tight updo pulls at my scalp. I found I can get away with a relatively loose cinnabun if I make it quite flat, push one of my hairsticks (medium-thick at one end, tapers slowly to really quite thin) through the outermost coil at around 2 o'clock and a bit of the next coil, then turn the stick in the other direction to catch a bit of scalp hair.
I then push it through the scalp hair underneath the bun, taking my time to make sure it's not catching and pulling hair uncomfortably, then exit in the outermost coil or the one before (pushing the outermost coil underneath in that case, so that the coil where I exit always ends up being the outermost one in effect).
It usually turns a little so that the stick becomes horizontal. This do is really comfortable and stays all day, and takes about 30 sec to a minute on a good day.

This reads a lot more convoluted than it is in practice, but I hope it makes some sense :)
The long clamp bun also works great for me.

[Silver & Gold]

Silver & Gold, I do comb my hair out and braid it in the evenings while watching a movie sometimes. Now I think I will add in practicing various buns. It's a good upper body workout, I think.

I never thought about having long hair as contributing to upper body work but yay you for giving me one more reason to hang in there even when my hair is at this gawdawful awkward, in-between stage.

[Lady Godiva]

Well there's part of my problem. I really can't tolerate hair pulled tight. It feels like it's pulling from the backs of my eyeballs and HURTS.
This is an interesting subject to me because I'm a tenderhead. When Hubs detangles, I can feel the slightest pull, and I can tell the types of tangles and knots apart by how they tug, even when they're below the knees. So you'd think I wouldn't be able to do tight updos, either, but somehow I can. Maybe it's because my updos shift and pull painfully when they're loose. Still, I know I make them tight because I have surprised a number of longhairs when they have watched me put in some styles. Several have commented that I do them more tightly than they. 2+2=4.

Spidermom, I'm wondering if there's a certain point of tightness that isn't too tight for you, but is tight enough, maybe tighter than you make updos now? I suggest trying to find how tight you can make them and go no further.

An added thought is that for me, balance and evenly distributing the weight of my updos are very important. Both are aided greatly by tightness, but what works for me is making sure that the updo is centered well and supported evenly from many hair sources, as this distributes the weight.

I'm tellin' ya, you couldn't force a hair stick through this Log Roll. It's that tight. I cannot dig my finger through it, no way, no how, not in the slightest. However, I can place my open palm on it and ever-so-slightly shift it left and right. Then it settles back into center position, back to comfort.

[spidermom]

Lady Godiva, I will heed your advice and experiment when I'm just sitting around watching a movie or something because I know that you know what you're talking about.